


Prepare for trouble, make it double

by DOOOOWEEEOOOOOOO



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, How Do I Tag, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Mistaken Identity, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Underage Drinking, basically sokka is team rocket and zuko is a dumbass, because they are idiots what can i say, but only like once - Freeform, don't worry it'll make sense, no beta we die like jet, when i say that please imagine team rocket in pokemon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29378592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DOOOOWEEEOOOOOOO/pseuds/DOOOOWEEEOOOOOOO
Summary: This was a stupid plan. It was stupid anddumband there was no way it was going to work.Sokka straightened his clued-on beard and prayed to the spirits that his disguise would be enough to fool the scowling prince in front of him.He cleared his throat, channeling the scratchiest old man voice he could muster.“Well, young man, I was wantin’ to talk to you ‘bout your ship's dockin’ license."“Mywhat?!”Yeah. This plan was stupid.ORThe Gaang (read: Sokka) plays an elaborate game of dress-up with Prince Zuko to distract him and avoid fights. It works, right until Sokka discovers an Actual Personality under all of the Prince's shouting and things get a lot more complicated.(aka the Zukka fic I came up with after watching Ash Ketchum not recognize Team Rocket just one too many times.)
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 136





	1. Nobody told you to bring that nasty attitude

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This has been vegitating in my google docs for a while now. I hit a bit of a motivation slump and thought "why not just post it for peer pressure?", so here you go. What can I say guys, this was inspired by team rocket. 
> 
> Will this have a regular update schedule? Probably not, but I'll try my best.

Alright. To be completely honest, this situation was less than ideal. In fact, one could even say that it– _Shit!_

Cursing under his breath, Sokka dodged yet another blazing fireball.

This day had started out _so well._ The weather was great, the breakfast had been one of the best things he had tasted in years - all rich flavors and sweet toppings - and even the bathwater hadn’t been absolutely freezing for a change. He had apologized to Suki, and this stunning, amazing, beautiful girl had against all odds _forgiven_ him. She had even agreed to train him! Sure, the outfit was kind of ridiculous, and the unfamiliar makeup was itching his face, but he had to admit that the fans were a pretty cool weapon. And he hadn’t even done half bad in his first training session, especially considering the last formal training he’d gotten had been more than two years ago.

Now, if only he could stop stumbling over his skirt while _literal Fire Nation soldiers on angry rhinos were chasing him,_ that would be great.

“Oh, come on!”

The doorway he had been about to hide in suddenly burst into flames. Well, there goes that plan. Sokka frantically looked around for another way out of the direct line of fire. He might be the best warrior in his village, but he also knew that sometimes a tactical retreat was the best solution.

(He also knew that the main reason he was the best warrior of his village was the fact that he was the only warrior taller than an otter penguin, but he wasn’t about to admit that. Let a man have some self-confidence.)

The doorway was collapsing. The railing was on fire too, which effectively cut off all his escape routes, except going backwards. Which kinda sucked, because that way was blocked by an angry firebender on a two-ton scaly beast.

 _Oh well_ , Sokka thought, _Offence is the best defense and all that._

With as much flourish as he could muster while standing in a skirt on a mostly burning porch, he spun around, facing his enemy with open fans. What he saw made him stumble just slightly. The angry jerk behind him was not just any angry jerk, it was the _Prince_ of the angry jerks. What was his name again? Prince Saku? Zuto? Something like that.

“Where are you hiding the Avatar?”

The Prince demanded in that yelling, _please-listen-to-me-even-though-I’m-literally-14_ tone he had also used when attacking their village. It was already getting on Sokka’s nerves, and this was only the second time they’d held anything remotely resembling a conversation.

Seriously though, the guy was a Prince, capital P and all, shouldn’t he at least know how to properly order people around? Wasn’t that all those stuffy royal types did all day? Or maybe he should –

“Answer me! Where are you hiding him?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, fire boy.”

“Argh!”

Sokka ducked just in time to avoid a fire blast to the face. This guy had some serious anger management issues to work through.

“I know all about you,” the Prince continued yelling, “The Kyoshi Warriors are honorable people and have thus far stayed neutral in the war. Hand over the Avatar _now_ and I will allow you to remain that way!”

Sokka almost snorted. Did that guy seriously think that would work? As if Kyoshi would allow the Fire Nation to just take the Avatar, probably winning the war for good, just so they could- _Wait. Hang on a second there, brain._

Did that guy just address him as an actual Kyoshi Warrior? As in, one of the girls living on and defending this island?

Sokka wasn’t sure if he should feel offended or flattered. Some of his bewilderment must have shown through all the makeup on his face because the Prince let out another angry shout.

“What?!”

“Uhh… Well, you see…”

Sokka would have to play his cards wisely. Distracting the Prince until someone else showed up was his safest bet right now, because let’s be honest, even if he’d had more than one training session with Suki, Sokka wasn’t sure if he would be able to take the Prince of the Fire Nation and his angry rhino. And that with nothing but a pair of fans and a dress he hardly knew how to move in.

He probably should not risk the Prince finding out that he was actually the guy travelling with the Avatar either, because then his chances of not becoming toast or being captured as bait to get to Aang would dwindle drastically. So, distraction it was.

“You know, you’re right actually. We _are_ neutral territory. So who do you think you are, just showing up here and burning our village down?”

The Prince lowered his fist, looking slightly taken aback as Sokka put his hands on his hips. Good. This _might_ just work.

“Because, you see, now that you already set our village on fire,” Sokka continued, edging towards the stairs. He would have to leave this porch before the support beams decided that enough was enough and dropped a burning roof on him. “…we don’t really feel like helping you anymore.”

He was painfully aware that he was moving on very thin ice here. As soon as the Prince worked through his obvious confusion and remembered to be angry and shouty, there was a pretty high chance he was gonna be fried to a crisp. And possibly served as dinner. Maybe firebenders had cannibalistic tendencies, who knew.

“I mean, what made you think we wouldn’t just help you? We’re neutral after all. And to be quite honest with you, we’re not all that happy with the Avatar either.”

The Prince looked doubtful. Which was fair, Sokka guessed, but not what he needed right now.

“No, really! He left the whole world to fight for itself for a hundred years, and then he just shows up and demands food and shelter?”

He took a step down the stairs. The Prince didn’t immediately raise his fist again, so he counted that as a win.

“I mean have you met that kid? He seems to think that just throwing around his Avatar title will make everyone adore him!” Sokka managed a scoff, hoping it sounded as unimpressed as he’d intended. “Well, it doesn’t!”

Pretenses aside, this was actually something Sokka worried about. Sure, it wasn’t the kid’s fault he disappeared, and now he was doing what he could to make up for lost time, but people didn’t know that. One day, some village might decide that simply being the Avatar wasn’t enough reason to welcome them. They might even sell them out to the Fire Nation for what Sokka was sure would be quite the bounty. 

The Prince seemed to think his reasoning made sense as well, which was generally worrisome, but beneficial to his current situation. Sokka took another step down the stairs. Only one more left. Hopefully the spirit of this house was feeling generous today and would choose not to let the roof collapse on his head and let him die a painful, fiery death.

“So all I’m saying is that maybe next time you should just try asking nicely. People are a lot more open to negotiations when their buildings aren’t on fire.”

Last step. He wasn’t quite out of the burning-pieces-of-house-might-fall-on-you range, but at least the ground under his feet was no longer flammable. As a side effect, he was now standing face to face with the deeply frowning Prince of the Fire Nation. Well, not really. He was actually standing face to face with three very threatening horns that were pointed in the general direction of probably all his important organs. But anyways. This was fine.

“I’m…” Sokka scrambled for an appropriate name. His eyes fell on the (burning) statue of Kyoshi.

“Kyo-“ _No. Stop. Bad brain. You can’t be called Kyoshi just because you live on Kyoshi island, that makes no sense._ “-ka. Kyoka.” _Nice save._ “And you are?”

The Prince looked severely bewildered. If at the admittedly weird name he had just been given, or the fact that some random Kyoshi Warrior was making casual conversation with him, he wasn’t sure.

“Prince… Zuko?”

Ah, so _that_ was his name. Well, he’d been pretty close.

“Nice to meet you, Prince Zuko.” Sokka had to fight very hard to make his grin look natural. He had a feeling he might still look a bit like a serial killer. “Now, what do you say; you guys stop burning down our village and maybe put out those fires, and then we can talk about getting you the Avatar, yeah? I mean, he must be hiding around here somewhere, he wouldn’t just, like, run away, right?”

Whoops. Evidentially, that had been the wrong thing to say, because Zuko suddenly managed to shake his stupor, roared like an aggravated polar bear goose and threw a scalding hot fireball at Sokka’s face, which he just barely managed to deflect with his fans. _Okay, jeez, we get it, his royal fieriness has anger issues._

“You were distracting me!” Yeah, no shit genius. “You will pay for that, you stupid little girl!”

Okay, now that was just offensive. However, Sokka decided not to stick around and pass on Suki’s earlier lecture about respecting girls as the individuals they were and not generalizing them through prejudices based on their gender. Instead, he dropped his fans, hitched up his skirt and ran for his life.

***

Later, when they were all sitting back on Appa and the dark cloud of smoke over Kyoshi Island was getting ever smaller in the background, Katara quietly snickered to herself as she helped him wash off the makeup.

“You know Sokka, I don’t know what you’re so grumbly about. It’s not like this is the first time you wore makeup. I remember back when we were kids, you would always put yours on because you thought that maybe dad and the other men wouldn’t recognize you and you could sneak on their hunting trips.”

“That, Katara, was _war paint_ , not makeup! It is very manly and shows a warrior’s– “

His sister was raising one of her eyebrows and giving him her best unimpressed look. She had always been unfairly good at those.

The image of Suki giving him a very similar look a few days ago flashed through his mind. He winced.

“Ah. Right. Alright, I guess this is also a warrior’s face paint and I should be proud to wear it.”

“Aww, look at that personal growth! I’m so proud of you Sokka!” She hugged him around the neck and planted a big, wet kiss on his cheek. With a sound of disgust, Sokka pushed her off. Were all little sisters this patronizing?

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. But this stuff is still super itchy, so could you _please_ help me get it off?”

Katara chuckled again, shaking her head. Sokka was about to protest, but she took one of their washcloths and soaked it in her bending water, so he shut his mouth and instead chose to pout at her, but his irritation wasn’t genuine anymore.

Meanwhile, Aang had abandoned his post on Appa’s head and was now crouching on the edge of the saddle, grinning back at them. The first few times the airbender had done that he had almost given Sokka a heart attack. Now he knew that even if the kid did fall off, he would be fine. Probably.

“You know, Sokka, I really think you could pull this outfit off.”

Sokka pulled a face, at which Aang’s grin widened.

“I mean, it’s not your usual style, but it’s good to try something new every once in a while.”

“Oh shut up Aang,” Sokka grumbled in response, but he was trying to keep his lips from quirking up into a smile. Katara snorted next to him.

“No, really! You were pretty convincing! If I didn’t know you so well by now, I would have totally bought it.”

Katara was outright giggling now, and even as Sokka playfully batted at her face and told her to quit it, he couldn’t quite stop a chuckle bubbling up in his chest.

“You know Aang, I think you’re right actually. Guess who I ran into earlier! Our good friend Prince angry jerk. And guess what? He didn’t even recognize me! I’m honestly kind of offended.”

“Well maybe he’s just not very observant.”

“Think it has something to do with the eye?”

_“Sokka!”_


	2. I think things are looking sorta rocky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad plans are made, keep being made and keep working because Zuko is an oblivious dork.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this the beginning of an upload schedule?? Probably not, because procrastination is a bitch, but I'm doing my best here. 
> 
> **Content Warnings:** Some minor injuries, nothing graphic. This chapter is mostly for fun.

Sokka really wasn’t sure how his life had come to this point.

Finding an actual living person and his ten ton flying bison in the arctic ice of the South Pole was one thing. Finding out that guy was the Avatar, long lost hero of the four Nations who had apparently been frozen solid for the past one hundred years? Sure, why not. Choosing to travel the world with that guy on a wild quest to master all four elements and stop the war? A bit of a reach, but hey, Sokka was nothing if not adaptable.

But this?

He couldn’t exactly recall how it started, but somehow, they’d started a game of trying to distract Prince Zuko - the angry evil bastard that had been following them since day one, yelling about his honor and trying to flambé them in their sleep – by putting Sokka into the most ridiculous disguise they could find on short notice and just… rolling with it.

Because, you see, sometimes it just so happened that Team Avatar and the Prince’s crew accidentally found themselves in the same quaint little village, and Katara absolutely refused to delay wash day any longer.

Which was fair. Even Sokka could admit that his socks  _ reeked _ .

The first time it had happened, Katara had just handed over four silver pieces for their clothes to be washed with actual soap in actual boiling water, when Aang had pointed out the Fire Navy ship that was rapidly getting closer to them. After a short debate they had concluded that there was absolutely no way the Prince was here for them. They hadn’t been anywhere near civilization for three days!

Hence why Katara was so adamantly refusing to push back wash day any longer.

But, as the nice lady from the laundry establishment had told them, their clothes would need at least half a candle mark before they were done. And Katara, in either a stroke of genius or a sudden fit of midnight-sun madness, had recalled the incident on Kyoshi Island from a few weeks back. The one where it had turned out the Fire Prince was an oblivious idiot and apparently incapable of recognizing one of his three biggest nemeses under a bit of makeup and a fancy dress (‘ _ Warrior’s Uniform!’ _ the echo of Suki’s voice scolded him.)

So, they had taken inspiration from Aang’s stellar performance as Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis III, decked him out in a fake beard and extra bushy eyebrows and sent him down to the docks with a random scroll and the instructions to _ “Just think of something, Sokka, we all know that you’re great at talking nonsense.” _

It had gone something like this.

***

With a sigh, Sokka scratched at his beard.

He really, truly, absolutely hated this idea. It was ridiculous, and it was never in a million years going to work. The first time had been pure dumb luck, and there was no way that the Prince of the freaking Fire Nation would fall for this ruse a second time.

Sokka fiddled with the rumpled scroll in his hand. This whole plan was built on the assumptions that Prince jerkface would a) not recognize him immediately and b) actually stop and listen to whatever he came up with.

He really wasn’t sure either of those requirements could be met.

The only real reason Sokka had agreed to all this was because he couldn’t come up with a better idea. And to think he called himself the plan guy.

If they all survived this, there was no way Katara was ever going to let this go, he thought with a frown. It would be just like that one time when they were children and Sokka had driven both himself and his penguin straight into a snowdrift after Katara had insisted that the route would be a dead end. 

The cold wet snow in his anorak had been terrible, but not as terrible as his sister making fun of his sense of direction for the next week and a half. 

Well, now Sokka was standing at the harbor in a slightly too big uniform they had stolen from someone’s laundry-line, a hastily glued on beard and wig made from Appa’s fur, fiddling with a scroll in his hand and waiting for the plank of Zuko’s ship to drop down. He sighed. Might as well accept Katara’s mocking now because this was definitely worse than the snowdrift incident.

A loud hiss filled the air as the ship’s mechanism released its pressure in a cloud of steam. Sokka exhaled deeply in an effort to calm his nerves and squared his shoulders. He knew that if he wanted to be convincing, the most important thing he had to do was be convinced of his own story. If he didn’t believe in what he was selling, no one would buy it.

The plank dropped almost excruciatingly slow, and a few crewmen in obvious Fire Nation robes came strolling down, carrying empty baskets. It looked like they really were just on a shopping trip. But that didn’t matter now. If those guys spotted Aang on the market, they would be screwed. 

“Excuse me, gentlemen-” He barely suppressed a cough at the forced scratchiness of his voice. “-which one’a you fellas is the commander of this ship?”

The men’s eyes seized him up, their expressions ranging from mildly confused to highly unimpressed. No going back now. 

“The commander is still up on the deck. What’s it to you, old man?”

Wow, rude. But at least his disguise seemed solid enough. To fool some Fire Nation soldiers. Yet another win for the Appa-Beard.

“Well Imma need to have a word with ‘im about this ship’s dockin’ license. If one’a ya fellas could go fetch ‘im for me that’d be real great.”

Sokka had no idea if something like a docking license even existed. He thought it would make sense to have people pay if they want to use your harbor, but then again, he had never actually been on a ship outside of the South Pole. 

“Sure,” one of the crewmen scoffed. The guy, who had some pretty impressive sideburns now that Sokka was looking at him, dropped his basket in one of his companion's arms. He turned around and stomped up the walkway.

Sokka and the other men waited in uncomfortable silence for Mr. Sideburns to return, time which Sokka spent studying his scroll to seem like he actually knew what he was doing. It seemed to be the shopping list Katara had written for Aang before she sent him to get their supplies, complete with the exact amount of money that should be spent on all the items.

Great. Why did Aang give this to him? He could already hear Katara complain about their lack of money the next time he wanted to buy a grindstone for his boomerang.

After some more excruciatingly awkward silence, Mr. Sideburns finally returned with none other than Prince Angry Jerk himself.

“Well?” The Prince demanded once they had reached the bottom. “What do you want from me?”

Okay, was everyone in the Fire Nation this rude to old people? Sokka had half a mind to repeat whatever speech Aang had given that guard at the gate of Omashu. That probably wasn’t a good idea if he wanted to seem like an actual Old Man, and not a twelve-year-old who also thought that sliding down the steepest flat surface available and almost getting impaled by a bunch of spears was a lot of fun. 

Then again, when else would he get the chance to yell at the prince of the Fire Nation?

“You watch your tone! You’d better learn to show your elders some respect, young man! I’ve got half a mind to bend ya’ over my knee and paddle your backside.”  _ Alright, maybe turn it down a notch, brain. _

For a moment, Prince Zuko looked taken aback. Fair reaction if you asked Sokka, it wasn’t every day some old guy with eyebrows thicker than your forearm yells at you for almost no reason. 

But Sokka could’ve sworn he also saw a flash of anxiety reflected in those unnaturally golden eyes, which _ , weird. _ He was pretty sure he wasn’t  _ that _ intimidating, especially not to an imperial firebender. 

It was gone just a moment later though, so maybe he had imagined it. In its place the prince’s usual anger flared.

“Watch your tone yourself! I am the Prince of the Fire Nation, and you will treat me as such.”

Sokka stared at Zuko. Zuko stared back. In reality, Sokka didn’t really know what to say now that they had reached that point, so he was trying to stall by furrowing his glued on bushy eyebrows in the way that his grandfather always used to. Katara and he lovingly called them the eyebrows of disappointment. Going by the uncertain twist of the prince’s mouth, he succeeded.

“Well, young man, the reason I’m here is because‘a your ship's dockin’ license. How long do ya wanna stay in our little harbor?”

“Till sundown. We only need to refill our stocks, then we will be on our way.”

Sokka frowned down to his scroll, pretending to scan over some terribly important information and not the number of moon-peaches Katara needed for breakfast. He hummed thoughtfully, stroking over his fake beard for added effect. (He stopped the motion when he noticed some of the fur coming off.)

“So almost a full day, then. Well I’m sorry, young man, but it would seem that you’re gonna have to pay the full price there. Nothin’ I can do.”

“What do you mean, the full price? Price for what?”

The prince huffed in irritation. Were those actual sparks coming out of his nostrils? Was he trying to intimidate Old-man-Sokka? It wasn’t really working, obviously. Zuko looked more like an angry furnace than any kind of threat. Nevertheless, Sokka hadn’t even been aware that firebenders could  _ breathe fire _ . 

_ Every day is a learning day. _

“For usin’ the harbor of course. It only makes sense, if you’re gonna be blockin’ our docks all day you gotta make up for all those other people that ain’t gonna be visitin’ because your ship’s in the way.”

Zuko scowled, considering this. Maybe. Maybe that was just his resting face. Or he was contemplating whether setting Sokka on fire would be worth the mess. 

After a few seconds, the prince’s shoulders sagged and he sighed. Sokka felt it was worth mentioning that there were no longer sparks in his breath.

The Prince’s reaction was… unexpected, to say the least. Sokka had expected him to throw one of his hissy-fits, and definitely not actually listen to what he said.

“I will have to consult my uncle. He is the one who manages our finances.” 

Immediately after the words left his mouth, a dark blush crept up on Prince Zuko’s cheeks. Which was fair, Sokka reasoned. He would be embarrassed too if he were a literal Prince and had just told a random stranger that he wasn’t allowed to handle his own money.

His thoughts flashed back to Aang on the marketplace. Spirits, he hoped that monk wasn’t spending all their money on tofu. Again.

“Sure thing boy. It’s gonna be about 200 gold pieces if that’ll be alright with ya. And those lovely gentlemen,” He nodded towards the crewmen, “Are gonna have to stay here till I got my money.”

He waited in anticipation for Zuko’s inevitable outburst. Maybe he shouldn’t be antagonizing the guy with a history of throwing fire at people who annoyed him, but it was actually kind of fun. 

It seemed the guy had resigned himself to Sokka-the-old-man’s antics, though. The Prince just nodded and turned around to go back on the ship, presumably to find his uncle.

Well, that sure was anticlimactic. Sokka had expected shouting, arguing, maybe even some flame throwing. Going by the outraged faces of the crewmen, his price had been ridiculously high. And the demand that they stay here until Zuko came back with the money had made absolutely no sense. The only reason Sokka had said it at all was because he was worried they were going to go to the market place too early and find Aang.

But it seemed like all the fight had just left prince Zuko and had been replaced by some kind of tired resignation. For a moment, Sokka wondered if the guy often ran into this kind of problem while travelling.

_ Nah.  _ This guy was the Prince of the Fire Nation. They probably made most of their stops in Fire Nation colonies where people would likely fall over themselves to kiss their boots.

It didn’t take long before Prince Zuko came back with a little bag that seemed to be filled to the brim with coins. Sokka only just stopped himself from raising his eyebrows as the Prince handed it over to him without so much as an angry huff.

“This should be all of it.” Sokka glanced into the bag, and yep, those were a shit-ton of gold pieces. Maybe he didn’t need to worry about Aang spending all their money after all.

He nodded with all the sullen confidence he had in him, trying not to let his surprise show on his face.

“Oh, and, uh…”

Sokka turned to the Prince, who was nervously fidgeting with his fingers. This encounter was getting weirder by the second. Maybe this was the moment the prince grilled him alive? Had this all just been an elaborate ruse to make him feel safe and then attack him? Had he been recognized?

Sokka’s eyes all but bulged out of his head when Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation and certified angry jerk, brought his hands together in some weird gesture  _ bowed _ to him. 

Sure, it was more of a polite head nod, but still! 

“I apologize for disrespecting you earlier. I realize you were just trying to do your job.”

Sokka was pretty sure his mind had transcended his body and left for another realm, because there was absolutely no way that this was the same guy who had grabbed his grandmother by the coat and threatened to burn (melt?) their village just a few weeks ago. 

There was  _ no way. _ Apologizing?  _ Prince Zuko? _ Nah.

It took every ounce of concentration Sokka possessed to pull himself together enough to squeeze out a halfhearted “Don’t worry about it, sport.” before Zuko spun around on his heel and stomped um the plank of his ship.

_ Well, _ Sokka thought, weighting the bag of gold pieces in his hand.  _ That was weird.  _ As Sokka’s brain tried desperately to fit this interaction into his mental picture of their #2 arch nemesis he considered that maybe, just maybe, there was a bit more to the Fire Prince than he’d originally thought.

(Then, about a week later, on a crescent shaped Fire Nation island, the prince showed up yelling and snarling and wrenching Aang’s arms painfully behind his back and  _ nope.  _ ‘No disrespect’  _ my ass.)  _

***

If that had been the only time it happened, Sokka would have been able to ignore the prince’s weird behavior at the docks. Even the Fire Prince must have a few bad days. But then, for some reason that was completely incomprehensible to him, they kept using this newly discovered distraction technique, and Prince Zuko kept behaving  _ weirdly. _

It was making Sokka wonder how much of Prince Jerkeface’s evil persona was him actually being evil, and how much was just a shouty teenage temper-tantrum. Which was bad because it distracted Sokka during their actual fighting confrontations.

He couldn’t stop asking himself what was so different between this Prince Zuko, and the one who had awkwardly fidgeted next to his uncle as Sokka-The-Royalty-Fanboy was fawning all over him. Or that one time when Sokka-The-Harried-Father-Of-Four had run straight into him and then hadn’t stopped apologizing for the whole time it had taken Katara to decide on a new sewing needle, and the worst thing the Prince had done was scowl slightly and wish his youngest daughter good luck for her school dance. 

No matter how many comparisons he drew or assumptions he made, that Prince Zuko just would not fit into his mental image of the young royal and it was absolutely  _ infuriating. _

However, when Sokka listed them by their weirdness-level in his head, none of his other encounters with the Fire Prince came even close to the one right before they had met Bato. 

Sokka’s persona of the day had been a Fire Nation soldier, whose slightly too wide uniform they had stolen from a clothing line one time. On the way to cut the Prince and his uncle off in front of the market they had chosen to stock up their food supplies, he had already started crafting some crazy story about a fire that he needed help putting out. Surely two imperial Firebenders would be able to help this poor non-bender out, right? Then he would just lead them through the forest, possibly even across the river, and swiftly disappear behind a convenient boulder he was sure would show up eventually. So basically a fool-proof plan.

Before he’d ever had the chance to execute it though, his foot had caught on a concealed root and he’d tumbled right down the hill, only to fall on his face in front of two very spooked Fire Princes, sporting a small laceration over his eyebrow, a twisted ankle and a shit-ton of newly acquired bruises.

“Oh my,” the old general had said, immediately moving to get Sokka sitting upright. As the Prince had started  _ loudly inquiring  _ (yelling) if he was aware of the  _ dangers _ of startling a  _ firebender _ , Sokka’s plan had rapidly changed in his head. Suddenly there was no longer a fire, but he had in fact been robbed. Which conveniently also explained his lack of an armor now that he thought about it.

The old man, who looked less  _ terrifying general _ and more  _ squishy old guy _ from up close, had nudged his nephew and said something about helping this Good Fire Nation Citizen. If Sokka had been paying more attention, he might have noticed the tiny mischievous glint in the old man’s eyes, but he was pretty sure his fall had actually given him a concussion, so there was not much noticing going on in general. Zuko, being the oblivious idiot that he was, certainly didn’t notice.

And that was how Sokka had ended up on a Fire Nation ship for the second time of his life. He had not been much more comfortable with that situation than the first time. Although this time did involve a lot less fighting and more curious questioning from the general and brooding from the prince.

It had all been going great, right up until Sokka had gotten caught in his own web of lies.

Alright, that may sound a little more dramatic than it had been. But Sokka had been merrily going on and on about his supposed brother, who had tragically died in the military a few years back, when the general had looked up from where he was wrapping a cast around Sokka’s ankle and frowned.

"Which division?” He had asked, though he might have worded it more tactfully than that.

In that moment, all the “WARNING: DANGER” sirens in Sokka’s head had gone off, because how many divisions did the Fire Nation army have again? And how was Sokka supposed to know which ones had been involved in any kind of front movements in the past few years? And he couldn’t just bullshit something together either, because if anyone  _ would  _ know about Fire Nation troop movements it would be the  _ literal Princes _ .

So, he had blurted out “the 41 st ” and prayed to all the spirits that would listen that the soldiers he had overheard mentioning that division had been talking about the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.

By the reaction of his hosts Sokka had guessed that the 41 st had been a valid answer, but it had started up a whole different mess. Because suddenly, the currently-not-so-angry Prince had begun behaving  _ weird _ again. Sokka’s mind was just not made for this.

He had gone completely still in his brooding corner before leaving the room, earning a furrowed eyebrow from Sokka and a near silent sigh from his uncle, who had gone back to wrapping his ankle in silence. And as if that hadn’t been strange enough, he had returned a few candle inches later with a dirt stained, ripped up piece of fabric in his hands. Like he said,  _ weird _ .

His head had been bowed, awkwardly avoiding Sokka’s eyes as he pressed the fabric, which turned out to be some kind of flag, into his hands. He had been mumbling at about the volume of a newborn seagull-pigeon, so Sokka hadn’t been able to catch most of what he’d said, but he was pretty sure he had heard the words  _ all that’s left _ ,  _ you have it _ ,  _ couldn’t do more _ and  _ sorry, _ although not necessarily in that order.

Sokka had fought very hard to keep the confusion off his face and booked it out of there the second that the Prince’s uncle had finished his cast.

Later, miles away and at a different campsite, Sokka had twisted in his bedroll, unable to keep thoughts of the rumpled flag off his mind.

Quietly he had gotten up, the others long asleep around the dimmed campfire, and gotten the flag from his backpack. He didn’t know those soldier’s story, but if Prince Shouty’s had reacted like  _ that _ , he knew it couldn’t have been pretty.

He had carried the flag down to the river and paid his respect to those fallen men of a Nation that wasn’t his own in the only way he knew how.

(Two days later, Prince Zuko had shown up with an intimidating lady on a rabid beast, nearly burning down an entire abbey, and all Sokka had thought had been  _ “What the fuck is going on inside your head?!” _ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is 7:30 pm on a Friday and I just had the best burger of my life. If you ever wind up in Germany go to Hans im Glück (or Peter Pane if you're in the north) to experience heaven on earth. Just trust me. There are so many amazing vegetarian and vegan options, and I've been told the meat is just as good. 
> 
> Anyway, about the chapter: Does the title have anything to do with the chapter? Not really, but it was funny and I couldn't find a fitting quote. Do I know that there is no way in hell Zuko wouldn't recognize Sokka in his sketchy ass disguises? Yes. Do I care? No. I told you this was based on Team Rocket for a reason, guys. 
> 
> As you may have noticed, this chapter was still mainly set-up. The next one is where it gets ~juicy~. Stay tuned. Feel free to talk to me in the commets or on [tumblr](http://dooooweeeooooooo.tumblr.com/) :D


	3. Wow, I got a lot of people to disappoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenage rebellion, Zuko's ponytail and more bad decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys!! Thank you so much for all the comments on the last chaper, you cannot imagine how freaking happy I was!
> 
> Listen. I wanted to get this out by Friday. i even finished the first draft on tuesday. But then I had this math test on thursday, so i had to study on wednesday and on thursday my brain was fried. And on friday I first watched WandaVision episode 8, and then read chapter 28 of The Art Of Burning, so you can probably imagine my mental state after that. Anyway
> 
> **Content warnings** : Underage drinking. Gracious use of the f word. There is one more that i don't want to post here because it would be a bit spoiler-y. If you wanna be safe, feel free to check the end notes. I'm pretty sure it's nothing bad, but you never know.
> 
> Enjoy the chapter :D

Sokka squared his shoulders, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes in concentration.

_Alright Sokka, you got this. Just like all the other times._

Exhaling, he let his muscles relax again, falling into a new character.

He was now Yán, a simple earth kingdom boy in his late teenage years, who just wanted to get a nice refreshing drink after a long day of working in the fields. Yán had chosen to come to this particular tavern on a whim, just so that he could avoid his annoying little sisters and overbearing but loving parents for a little longer.

The bell above the door chimed, and Sokka's ears were met with laughter, merry conversations and the clanking of dishes all around the room. _Perfect_ , he thought. The tavern seemed to be rather popular, and he was certain nobody would notice just another guy in green sitting at the bar. 

He relaxed his posture some more, smiling and nodding at one of the waitresses. Even though the room was stuffed, he managed to locate his target almost immediately.

Not that he made it particularly hard, what with that stupid ponytail of his.

Although, Sokka had to admit that the Prince looked different without his usual Fire Nation armor. Less threatening, maybe. But Sokka knew not to be fooled by appearances. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was -and always would be- an angry jerk, armor or no armor.

The chairs at the bar were almost empty, so Sokka located one that was close, but not too close to the Prince, slid over there and let himself drop down with a sigh. He (and with that he meant Yán-the-earth-kingdom-boy) had just spent the whole day working in the fields after all. When 

he reached up to take off his straw hat, the Earth Kingdom style bun that Katara had forced his hair into wobbled dangerously. 

“Long day, huh?” Sokka asked, keeping his tone casual as he put the hat down in front of him. The Prince looked up from his cup of – was that _wine?_ – and turned to Sokka with a frown. Then he turned around and frowned at the empty space behind him. He frowned back at Sokka.

“Who, me?”

Sokka nodded, waving at the barmaid and ordering a glass of water. He knew it might seem weird, and the temptation of readily available alcohol was big (because he was a teenager with poor self-restraint) but if he came back drunk, Katara would definitely kill him. And besides, he had a mission here. He needed to concentrate.

Plastering a small smile onto his lips, he turned back around to Zuko, propping his elbow up on the counter and raising his eyebrow. He could’ve sworn there was a light dusting of a blush on the Prince’s cheeks, but knowing him it must be a trick of the light. Or the alcohol the other boy had apparently been drinking. Honestly, how old even was that guy? Surely not old enough to be drinking wine in a seedy earth kingdom tavern.

“Uhh… I guess?”

Sokka chuckled. The amount of socially awkwardness Prince Zuko radiated whenever he wasn’t actively trying to kill them would never not be hilarious. Though now that he thought about it, going around trying to kill people probably wasn’t a sign of amazing social skills either. 

Then again, Sokka didn’t think he had ever seen the Prince even talk to anyone who wasn’t at least twice his age, so maybe it was just a lack of practice? Huh. If all he ever did was order people around and talk about things like _taxes_ and _the slaughter of innocents,_ maybe his awkwardness around Sokka (or rather, Sokka’s numerous fake personalities) only made sense. 

Internally shaking himself, Sokka brought his thoughts back to the present. _Come on Sokka, concentrate_. Right now, the Prince was showing off his previously mentioned lack of social skills by intently staring at his cup as he raised it to his lips and not paying attention to Sokka. He’d have to do something about that.

“Well that sure sounds interesting. If I buy you another drink, will you tell me more?”

The Prince spluttered, almost choking on his sip.

Sokka almost did too, because that… had not been the approach he’d been going for.

He could feel a blush rising to his cheeks and was about to take back what he just said, with a laugh and probably a whole lot of winking. But as the other teen squinted at him, his good eye forming a slit that rivaled the other one, he thought that _maybe_ this could work too. _Might as well go with it now._

“You don’t look totally freaked out, so I’m just gonna take that as a yes,” Sokka quipped, plastering a hopefully charming grin on his face. “I’m Yán by the way.” He turned to the barmaid. “Hey, could you get him another... Whatever it is he’s drinking.”

Zuko squinted at him for another moment, then turned his head to examine the drink like he was actually considering the offer. Sokka could see the second he made his decision, shoulders slumping and eyes closing momentarily. It was the look of someone who knew exactly that they were being an idiot, and honestly Sokka could relate.

“Whatever,” Zuko mumbled into his cup before he threw his head back, swallowing the rest of the weirdly murky liquid in one big gulp.

The barmaid placed another cup in front of the Prince. Sokka flipped a silver piece over the counter and turned back to Zuko, who was already sipping from his new cup and resolutely not looking at Sokka.

“So, be honest with me,” Sokka smirked at Zuko, who in turn raised a questioning eyebrow, “does that stuff actually taste good, or are you just drinking it to drown your misery?”

And Zuko - Wait, did he just _chuckle?_

“No, I like it.” 

Alcohol probably wasn’t the best conversation topic he could have chosen, because let's be honest, apart from that one time he had accidentally taken a truly disgusting sip from Bato’s flask of _whatever that had been_ , he really had no experience whatsoever on the topic. But whatever, too late now.

“Really? Because it looks pretty…”

While Sokka struggled to find the right word, the Prince just chuckled - _chuckled!_ \- again.

“Yeah, I know. It’s rice wine.” The Prince turned on his barstool to face Sokka. His head tilted with the motion, allowing the candles around the soft evening light in the room to highlight the flush on his cheeks. “You can get it clear too, here in the Earth Kingdom, but I actually like these murky ones. They taste more like they do at home.”

That… must’ve been the most words Sokka had ever heard the Prince say in one go without shouting. Or insulting someone. And had he just casually revealed the fact that he wasn’t from the Earth Kingdom? Zuko should be glad Sokka wasn’t actually _Yán, the simple earth kingdom farmer_ , because he had a feeling that _that guy_ wouldn’t have exactly been thrilled about that. 

But since he wasn’t Yán, Sokka didn’t bat an eyelash. The Prince probably hadn’t even noticed his unfortunate phrasing. Instead, he listened with mild interest as the other boy rambled on. 

“And besides, rice wine is so much better than some other wines you can get. And uncle won’t let me drink any of the stronger stuff yet, so… Rice wine it is.”

Prince Zuko took another sip. Sokka’s interest was officially piqued. 

He knew he _shouldn’t_ , Zuko’s unfiltered rambling made that much obvious. Sokka was on a mission, it was crucial to keep a clear head. If Zuko somehow decided this conversation wasn’t worth having anymore, he might also decide to walk out of the bar right this moment, and if Sokka wouldn’t be able to stop him he would most definitely walk straight into Aang and Katara haggling with some merchants on the market. But then again… 

“Can I try a bit?”

Was this teenage rebellion? If his dad ever heard of this, he’d get to see his disappointed eyebrow for months. And La forbid if anyone ever told _Gran Gran_.

Zuko looked wary for a moment, but ultimately shrugged and nudged the cup towards Sokka. And because Sokka just loved making his life harder than it needed to be, he took this opportunity to scoot off of his barstool and onto the one right next to Zuko. 

The Prince watched this with a raised eyebrow. Sokka just grinned back at him. 

Carefully, he took the cup and raised it to his lips. He took a sip - and immediately spluttered, face pulling into a grimace almost involuntarily. It was _terrible_. Somehow it managed to be bitter, sour and sweet all at once, and it left a weirdly warm sensation at the back of his throat. Sokka pouted down at the beverage, slightly offended. He had just disappointed his Gran Gran for this??

The cup was removed from his field of vision by pale hands, and as he looked up, he could see Zuko smirk before taking a big gulp of his miserable drink. Sokka pulled a face.

“And you say this tastes better than other wines? Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, you get used to it.” Zuko smirked, putting his cup back down. “And trust me, if you think this is bad, just wait till you try red wine.”

“What about red wine?”

“It’s terrible!” the Prince exclaimed, throwing out his hands in a motion that made some of the liquid slosh over his hand. “It tastes absolutely horrible, but people keep drinking it because they think it’s fancy! I just don’t get it!”

As the Prince of the Fire Nation went on a rant about how dry red wine was apparently an atrocity, Sokka snuck another distrustful glance at the cup in his hand. It _had_ tasted horrible. But Zuko had said you get used to it, and when else would he get a chance like his? 

With an internal shrug, Sokka snatched the cup back from the Prince’s grip and took another big gulp. Yep, still horrible. Another sip, and nope, it really wasn’t getting any better.

Next to him, Zuko apparently hadn’t even noticed that his drink had been stolen, and was gesticulating along to his rather passionate speech, explaining why red wine was a social construct. His eyes were wide, and his words were stumbling, and Sokka thought that had this been different circumstances, had the boy across from him not been the Prince of the enemy nation, it might have been endearing. Some far back, traitorous part of Sokka’s brain conceded that it _was_.

This was another one of those _weird_ moments. The ones where it almost seemed like Prince Zuko was an actual person, one who had interests and opinions and feelings, and it planted yet another seed of _doubt_ in Sokka’s mind. 

He wasn’t really paying attention to the other boy’s monologue, only commenting whenever he caught an easy opportunity. When Sokka dutifully nodded his head along to whatever the Prince was saying, the world tilted further than it was supposed to. 

Momentarily confused, Sokka turned away from Zuko, towards the bar, and _woah_. He felt like he did whenever he jumped up to fast after they’d spent the day just flying and napping on Appa. It was strange and it made his stomach do some weird loops in his belly, and Sokka really wasn’t sure if he liked this. 

Maybe teenage rebellion hadn’t been a great idea.

Meanwhile, Zuko had apparently finished his rant about wine, but had somehow found his way towards animals? To be honest, Sokka had totally missed the transition there. What he didn’t miss was the heat rising to his own cheeks, and suddenly the flush gracing the unscarred parts of the Prince’s face made a lot more sense. He’d wondered about that, because the tavern really wasn’t all that warm. 

At least he wasn’t the only one here who’d overestimated his alcohol tolerance.

“People don’t really _get_ the thing about bumble-wasps, you know?”

“Oh? And what is that?”

“Ah, you see, they -”

There he went again, launching himself into yet another rant. Sokka grinned, only barely suppressing a chuckle. Who would’ve guessed His Angstyness would be a talkative drunk? Listening with one ear, Sokka let his gaze sweep over the bar. As far as he could tell, no one was paying them any special attention. The sun was just about setting outside, which meant that so far his distraction was working perfectly. At this point, almost nothing could go wrong.

Of course, the universe just loved messing with him, which is why this was the exact moment Sokka spotted Aang and Katara at the fruit stand across the street.

_Fuck._

For a brief moment, the warm buzz of the alcohol was pushed back by a wave of icy dread rolling down his spine. If Zuko so much as glanced in the general direction of the window, there was no way he wouldn’t notice them, no matter how much wine he’d had or how passionately he was talking about the importance of putting stones into your fountains so that bumble-wasps wouldn’t drown in it.

Heart hammering in his chest, Sokka let his eyes flit from the window to the Prince and back again, praying that Zuko wouldn’t notice. Aang and Katara were still inspecting the fruit. Distantly, Sokka thought that maybe they should stop wearing their usual clothes when they were visiting towns. Orange and blue really weren’t all that subtle in a sea of browns and greens.

“– and I know that they can be kinda aggressive, but they’re still important, you know? And anyways, their sting doesn’t even hurt that bad. Have you ever been stung by one?”

Sokka didn’t answer, not catching the question over the blaring sirens in his head. The corners of Zuko’s lips tipped down into a frown.

Aang and Katara were still not leaving. Damn their need to buy only perfect watermelons.

“Yán? You alright?”

Sokka’s eyes snapped back to the prince, going wide. Zuko was frowning at him. Golden irises were searching Sokka’s face, his lips contorted into the slightest of pouts. Sokka was about to rip himself out of his internal panic, ready to keep Zuko’s mind occupied with literally anything that wasn’t his sister and best friend, when Zuko started turning his head. Turning his head _towards the window._

_Fuck fuck fuck._

Sokka was frozen in his seat. If Zuko spotted Aang and Katara, would he recognize Sokka too? If so, there was no way Sokka would leave this tavern alive. And the others? They weren’t expecting Zuko to come after them right now, because they were _counting on Sokka_ to keep him distracted _._ He needed to do something, say something, _anything,_ dammit. _C’mon now, brain._

A thought formed in the back of his head. He gulped.

It was a split-second decision. Later, he wouldn’t be able to say if it had been the panic or the alcohol that had given him the idea. But in the heat of the moment, it was really the best plan his fogged mind could come up with.

Sokka took Prince Zuko’s face into his hands and kissed him.

_Huh._

As expected, the Prince reacted by immediately flinching back and pushing Sokka away. And Sokka counted that as a victory. At least now, with his rage concentrated towards Sokka, Zuko’s thoughts should be as far from the window as they could be. 

But to his surprise, once Sokka snapped his eyes open to stare at the other boy, he also noticed that the Zuko’s eyes were decidedly less hateful and more openly confused than Sokka thought they would be.

Sokka’s hands were still holding Zuko’s face, carefully keeping it turned towards Sokka and away from the blotches of orange and blue to Zuko’s left. The warmth of his skin sent a tingle through Sokka’s fingertips.

In any normal situation, Sokka’s brain would be working overtime to find a way to smoothly get out of this situation. This was evidently _not_ a normal situation.

_I just kissed the Prince of the Fire Nation_ , was the first fully formed thought Sokka’s brain produced once it restarted itself. Then, _the Prince of the Fire Nation was my first kiss._

When Zuko suddenly lurched forward under his hold, Sokka’ eyes clenched shut, fully prepared to feel the burning heat of fire on his face, or at least the numbing pain of a punch. However, the only thing that followed was the soft pressure of warm lips meeting his own.

A surprised noise escaped the back of Sokka’s throat, eyes snapping open. But Zuko didn’t move away. He just kept gently touching his lips to Sokka’s, holding completely still, like he was afraid Sokka would push him away. Which was kind of ironic, since Sokka had totally been the one who kissed him first, but had he been a little less desperate, that would have been exactly what he would’ve done.

_This should feel way weirder than it does,_ Sokka thought distantly. And then, _Fuck it. If it works, it works._

Eyes fluttering closed, Sokka moved his hand to the back of Zuko’s neck and pulled him closer. He could physically feel some of the tension bleed out of the other boy, who had moved his own hands to grip at Sokka’s shoulders.

Zuko’s lips were warm against his own, his breath hot and steamy against his skin. The feeling was utterly foreign to Sokka, but he surprisingly didn’t hate it.

_Is this weird? It should be weird._

Kissing Prince Zuko should be gross and uncomfortable, not make his stomach tingle and his heart pound in his ear. He was a _guy_ , for spirit’s sake. And, more importantly, their enemy! But no matter how many alarm bells were going off in the back of Sokka’s head, they weren’t loud enough for the front of his mind to overhear, and apparently his brain was too busy pouring hormones all over his body to care. 

Their second kiss didn’t last long, because it turned out a crowded tavern was not the best place for whatever the hell this was. Hollers and wolf-bat whistles reached Sokka’s ears, making heat rise to his cheeks.

The two boys broke apart, looking anywhere but at each other and blushing furiously.

_Is this technically treason?_ one part of Sokka’s mind wondered. It was drowned out by the white noise currently inhabiting the rest of his brain. 

He was abruptly snapped out of his stupor when the barmaid showed up in his periphery. The woman was scowling at the two tipsy teenagers who had just started making out right in front of her, raising one very unimpressed eyebrow. 

“I don’t care what you boys do in your spare time, but _don’t_ do it at my bar.”

This should be Sokka’s cue to leave. To laugh it off, say something charming and just book it out of there. But maybe it was the alcohol, or the way that Zuko was still blushing but not yelling, or just his _stupid teenage hormones,_ but instead he took the other boy’s hand, said “sure thing” and winked.

Next to him, Zuko produced a noise that could only be called a squeak, before promptly slapping a hand over his mouth and blushing even more. _Shit, that’s cute._

_No, bad brain. The enemy prince is not cute. Maybe hot (ha!), in a certain light, but not cute._

Sokka was not sure which dark force had currently taken control of his body. Maybe his trip to the spirit world had left some lasting damage after all. Or his alcohol tolerance was way lower than he’d hoped, because his vision was still tilting slightly whenever he turned his head, but as he pulled the other boy into the darkest, most secluded corner the tavern’s staircase had to offer he found he didn’t care.

Which was bad. Zuko was still the enemy. He wasn’t just Fire Nation; he was next in line to be _Fire Lord_. He was annoying, hotheaded, _dangerous_ and above all, an asshole. Everything in Sokka should be screaming at him to _run, idiot, what are you doing_ but it just didn’t. Instead, his body was thrumming with anticipation and excitement, any feelings of guilt quickly squashed by the thought that _this is all just part of the plan. Right?_

He pushed his thoughts away. Now was not a time to be worrying. 

Sokka turned around, grinning. With the wall behind his back, Zuko’s flushed face in front of him and adrenaline dancing in his veins, he didn't think he’d ever felt more alive.

The Prince’s eyes went wide as dinner plates as Sokka let his back hit the cool stone, pulling the other boy right with him until their chests were touching on every shaking inhale. 

"Is this okay?" Sokka whispered, earning a tiny nod from the boy in front of him.

Standing like this, Sokka was able to take in all the little details of Zuko’s face. How his lips were parted slightly and still glistening in the low light of the tavern. How the drunken flush on his left cheek disappeared under the edges of his scar, making the transition almost smooth. How his eerily golden irises were just barely glimmering around his dilated pupils. 

He was beautiful. 

But then, of course, there was the haircut. Whoever had told the prince that a haircut like this was fashionably any way, shape or form ought to be arrested for treason or something. 

Sokka's musings were abruptly knocked out of him when heated hands gripped his hips. _Fuck, okay._ He watched Zuko lean in through the dim light of the hallway, before letting his eyes flutter closed in anticipation. 

Warm lips met Sokka’s jaw, and he couldn't quite contain a gasp. He had expected Zuko to go for his lips. 

The Prince hummed, somehow managing to sound smug while having his lips on Sokka’s throat. It would have annoyed him in any other situation, but right now Sokka’s mind was caught in a haze of wet kisses and scraping teeth trailing down his neck and the searing grip of fingertips against his hips. 

Distantly, Sokka acknowledged the way his heart was thumping against his ribs. The way that every point of contact with the boy in front of him was sending tingling shivers through his body. The way that a blaze of arousal was pooling in his stomach and slowly trickling further down. 

_So I guess this is a thing now._ Apparently, this wasn’t just _not weird_ , Sokka was _into_ kissing boys. That was something to think about. Possibly even something to have a minor identity crisis about, but that could wait. Right now, Sokka figured, he might as well make use of the chance he had, because after all, experimenting was a rather effective way to make scientific discoveries.

_Theory: I enjoy kissing boys._

_Proof: About to be collected._

With a new goal in mind, Sokka lifted his hands from where they had still been pressed against the wall and, after just a bit of fumbling, placed them on the back of Zuko's head and neck. The skin there was warm and soft with fuzzy hairs, so short they weren't even visible. When Sokka gently circled his fingernails across the area, the sensation was pleasantly tingly. 

It seemed that Zuko agreed, because Sokka could feel a soft moan reverberating against his collarbone. _Fuck, that's hot._

Almost subconsciously, Sokka’s hand wandered up to the patch of hair on the back of Zuko's head. _Somebody needs to get this boy a haircut._ His knuckles brushed against the ponytail and a vague idea formed in his mind. _Actually…_

Sokka’s fingers found the end of the smooth satin band wrapped around the other boy’s ponytail, swiftly unravelling the fabric. As the band fell to the floor, discarded for the moment, the Prince’s hair slid over Sokka’s hand. 

He would have pulled away in surprise, but Zuko did so first. The Prince’s hair was _unfairly soft._ This was probably to be expected, with him being a Prince and probably having access to all those fancy hair products that never made their way anywhere near the South Pole, but _still._ Having hair that nice and then wearing it in a haircut that ugly should be considered a hate crime. 

Zuko was staring at Sokka. It was hard to get a read on him in the low light of the windowless staircase, but he wasn’t frowning at least. He looked surprised, maybe, and definitely less tense than he’d ever seen him before. If he didn’t know better, Sokka would think he almost looked _soft._

Which might just be the residue alcohol, still noticeable in the hazy focus of his eyes and the barely there swaying of his head. There was no way tha _t Prince Zuko_ would be looking this soft under normal circumstances. Or it was just teenage hormones. Even the Prince of the Fire Nation must have those.

Sokka raised his eyebrow, hand finding its way up to card gently through Zuko’s hair. The lack of the ponytail really didn’t make it look any less ridiculous. Now it was just a weird patch of long, silky hair at the back of his head, but it was enough for Sokka so bury his hand in it at least. 

However, he didn’t get much longer to watch the inky locks slip through his fingers, because the other boy dove forward to smash his lips against Sokka’s once more. Their teeth clinked together with the force of it, which was uncomfortable and slightly awkward, but it gave Sokka an excellent excuse to move his hands up to Zuko’s cheeks and hold him in a better position. 

The skin under his fingers was just as warm as the rest of Zuko. Just like his lips sliding on Sokka’s, like his breath puffing across his cheeks or the hands that had found their way under Sokka’s shirt and onto his waist. When he moved his thumbs to stroke over the skin of the Prince’s cheekbones, Zuko-

Flinched. He _flinched_ , just barely, but noticeably enough for Sokka to draw back just the tiniest bit and _oh._ He’d forgotten about the _scar_. 

Sokka wanted to slap himself. If there was any more space between his forehead and the other’s, he actually might have. 

Zuko’s scar had never been something he’d thought about much. It had always just been another part of the Prince, something to make his shouting scarier and his glare more impressive. But _of course_ there had to be a story there. A scar like that didn’t just come from nothing, especially not on the Fire Prince’s _face._ And while the scar did make him look kind of badass (not that Sokka was planning on telling him that), the guy must have at least some hang-ups about it.

_Well that just won’t do_ , Sokka’s alcohol addled brain decided. 

He moved his thumbs again, gently brushing the place where smooth skin became rough and bumpy. Just like before, Zuko twitched, his eyes flinching closed. But he didn’t move away. It wasn’t like Sokka wasn’t giving him the chance to, his touch feather-light and ready to be withdrawn at any moment, yet Zuko kept his head in place. His hands were still splayed out across Sokka’s waist. 

A tiny smile chased Sokka’s frown away. He placed a kiss on the other boy’s forehead. Then his nose. Next on his right cheek, and then finally, carefully on the rough skin of his left. 

It was intimate in a way that all the talking and making out before hadn’t been. Sokka could recognize it in the stunned look of Zuko’s golden eyes blinking up at him. He could feel it in the icy anxiety suddenly flooding through his veins, washing away the pleasant buzz that had resided there. 

_Oh. Oh shit._ Sokka’s smile slipped off his face, replaced by widening eyes and parted lips. _What am I doing here?_

Suddenly, the hands on his waist no longer felt warm. Suddenly, they felt scorching, trapping him in place. He could no longer see the wonder filling the golden eyes in front of him. They were only screaming danger, enemy and fire, fire, _fire_. 

Sokka jerked back, out of Prince Zuko’s hold. 

“Yán?”

_Right_. He might have forgotten about that, too. 

“Uhh…” Sokka fumbled for an explanation, anything that would get him out of here because he _needed to get out._ “It’s, uhh… It must be late already. And, um. My family. They're waiting for me. So, uh.” 

Prince Zuko didn’t move when Sokka stepped past him, away from the wall. In fact, he wasn’t really doing anything except looking completely lost. Sokka didn’t give himself the chance to think about it. Instead, he produced maybe the most forced grin ever and fled down the hallway. As he rounded the corner, he could hear a faint _“Huh? Wait, I-!”,_ but the rest of the exclamation got lost in the noisy buzz of the tavern.

_Well, I think I handled that well._

***

The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon when he finally stumbled into their camp. 

“Sokka!” Aang exclaimed, jumping up from his perch by the fire. The volume of it made Sokka’s head pound.

“Where were you?! We were worried Zuko found out and captured you or something!” Katara was glaring at him with her hands on her hips, just like the nice, caring sister that she was. “Wait, he didn’t capture you, did he?”

Normally, Sokka would have loved to throw some sarcastic remark back at her, but to be quite honest, his vision was still tilting any time he moved his head too fast and his head was throbbing with a newly developed headache, so all that came out was a very eloquent “Ugh”. He rubbed his temples. Man, he was never drinking again. This _sucked._

Katara frowned as he tripped over not one, but two roots on the way to his bedroll. 

“Did something happen? Are you hurt? You have to say something, Sokka.” 

“I’m fine, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Sokka groaned, flopping down on top of his sleeping bag. He should probably get into that. But that would mean having to stand up again. Ugh.

Above him, he heard Katara gasp. “Wait. Are you- Are you _drunk_?” 

Damn. Sokka groaned again, wordlessly burying his face in the pillow. He could already feel her disapproving look on his back.

“You _are_! Sokka, that’s really dangerous! Don’t you remember the story Gran Gran used to tell us about-” 

As Katara launched herself fully into her lecture about the dangers of alcohol, Sokka let himself drift. He was sure he would hear this lecture a lot over the following week, and he probably deserved it, but right now he was just _tired_. 

The last thing he remembered before slipping into unconsciousness was the taste of wine-coated lips on his and the open wonder in those golden eyes that haunted his dreams. _Oh yeah. He was definitely gonna have an existential crisis about that one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Additional content warning** : There is some kissing, which starts with a bit of dubious consent because Sokka uses it as a tactic to distract Zuko. Consent in given soon after, though. Because of that and since they don't really move past kissing I didn't think adding a tag would be necessary. If you disagree, or want me to add any other tags for that matter, please let me know in the comments!
> 
> Furthermore (yes, I'm using linking words. My 8th grade english teacher would be proud), the last bit of this chapter was inspired by [The Perfect Distraction](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1214218) by Dracze. Definitely go check that out, it's amazing.
> 
> Now, about the chapter: Firstly, I threw so much shade on Zuko's ponytail, but I regret nothing. It was somehow both an iconic statement and a crime against fashion, humanity and god and that sould be acknowledged. Secondly, yes, I have some very strong opinions on red wine. It is atrocious and people need to stop pretending has any good qualities other than looking fancy.
> 
> Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you thought in the comments or on [tumblr](http://dooooweeeooooooo.tumblr.com/) :D

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave your opinion in the comments or visit me on tumblr. If you have any complaints or criticism, feel free to tell me, but please keep it constructive. The next chapter is already done, so It shouldn't take too long to post. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. See ya 👀


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